How to fix: A circuit breaker keeps tripping

Everything is prepped: The movie is queued up on Netflix. Popcorn is in the microwave. The A/C is running full blast. And then, a circuit breakers trips. Now, you have to lay down the remote, move the entertainment center and hunt down the offender: a circuit breaker keeps tripping.

“Why does this circuit keep tripping?”

Many electricians may fix a circuit breaker that keeps tripping by simply replacing the breaker. However, there may be numerous reasons why a circuit breaker is flipping. For instance, a wiring problem may be the culprit. If faulty wiring is the the issue, a dangerous disaster could be lurking.Wiring, like any building material, can deteriorate. If live and neutral wires are touching intermittently this is known as an arc. If the arc is not rectified it can catch flammable material around it on fire.

However, how does an electrical contractor know whether the issue is wiring or a breaker? And, how can he fix the problem without checking all the wiring circuits? That is an expensive endeavor!

Circuit breaker keeps tripping – A tool to help

Wire Works Co Inc officially recommends the use of Platinum Tool’s Fault Trapper™ Arc Fault Circuit Tester and Fault Locator. Why use this tool in your workflow if a circuit breaker keeps tripping?

For starters, AFCI breakers are popular but finding the issues they inevitably cause can be quite a trial. An arc often occurs only sometimes – when the circuit has energy. Now, catching intermittent, short-duration arc faults is possible.

No other tester is available to perform the advanced diagnostics that the Fault Trapper™ has. Simply connect the Fault Trapper™ to the circuit, and with one simple press of a button the job is half done. Come back the next day and find out:

The type of fault

The location of the fault

Measure the distance to the fault

Log what time the error occurred

“The Fault Trapper is a new class of tester using Spread Spectrum Time Domain Reflectometry (SSTDR) to monitor energized circuits,” states Platinum Tools.